Friday, February 13, 2015

John Kitzhaber resigns as the Governor of Oregon

Oregon Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned on Friday.

"I am announcing today that I will resign as Governor of the State of Oregon.

"I understand that I have become a liability to the very institutions and policies to which I have dedicated my career and, indeed, my entire adult life. As a former presiding officer I fully understand the reasons for which I have been asked to resign.

"It is not in my nature to walk away from a job I have undertaken -- it is to stand and fight for the cause.

"For that reason I apologize to all those people who gave of their faith, time, energy and resources to elect me to a fourth term last year and who have supported me over the past three decades. I promise you that I will continue to pursue our shared goals and our common cause in another venue.

"I must also say that it is deeply troubling to me to realize that we have come to a place in the history of this great state of ours where a person can be charged, tried, convicted and sentenced by the media with no due process and no independent verification of the allegations involved. But even more troubling -- and on a very personal level as someone who has given 35 years of public service to Oregon -- is that so many of my former allies in common cause have been willing to simply accept this judgment at its face value," Kitzhaber said.

Kitzhaber has come under fire after being accused of using his influence as the Governor to secure contracts for his fiance’s green energy company. He also ordered the deletion of thousands of emails related to the scandal.

“It is with deep sadness that I ask Gov. John Kitzhaber to resign his position as governor of Oregon.

“Unfortunately, the current situation has become untenable, and I cannot imagine any scenario by which things improve.

“Oregon deserves a governor who is fully focused on the duties of state," State Treasurer Ted Wheeler said.

"It is my hope that we view his legacy not just through the narrow prism of these recent months, but the full scope of his decades of service.

"As Secretary of State Kate Brown takes the helm of Oregon government, I know that her colleagues and I stand with her as we embark on a new chapter for our state," Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian said.

"I am deeply disturbed by those who believe in due process for violent criminals yet abandon that bedrock principle in the case of a duly-elected governor. He served our State with distinction. His career didn't deserve to come to this premature end," Kitzhaber's attorney Jim McDermott said.